See the Dictionary Definition 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deaconesses
Noun
-
While women cannot be ordained as priests or deacons, they are not forbidden from teaching the faith as theologians, catechists and scholars.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026 -
At the 1978 Lambeth Conference, Nigerian leadership opposed the recommendation to allow the ordination of women as deacons and priests, though the proposal sparked debate within the church.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Hippocratic doctors vigorously denounced the religious healers of the day, such as the priests toiling in the temple of Asclepius.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The first female Anglican priests were ordained in 1994, its first female bishop in 2015, and now Mullally as the first archbishop of Canterbury.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Dollison was a regular contributor to the Church of Christ publication The Living Message, which credited him as being a major inspiration for many influential Arkansas Church of Christ preachers.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Possibly this was the case at élite law schools in the nineteen-nineties, where even the most obdurate deans could not afford to ignore their militant students indefinitely.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Many move around the country, going from deans to vice presidents, and on to president, and by that time they are conditioned to stay within the traditional behaviors of corporate expectations, where regularity is valued, and disruption is thought to create corporate liability.—
Matthew G. Andersson,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
Past presidents have met with popes and taken their criticisms on the chin, so to speak, but never has a president excoriated a pope in a public manner.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Churchgoers mourn beloved pastors People passing by the Pentecostal City Mission Church were overcome with emotion Friday after learning the horrific details of the crash that killed their beloved bishop and assistant pastor.—
Mark Prussin,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
By visiting with the sick and shut-in, helping the bereaved, ministering to the incarcerated, always being willing to open the doors of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church to more people, teaching theology to other pastors and more, Thornhill was a pastor.—
Sophia Tiedge,
jsonline.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Deaconesses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deaconesses. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
